Maryland 27, Wisconsin 10: Four takeaways from the Badgers' ugly loss in Big Ten opener
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MADISON – Ugly. Downright ugly.
There are no other ways to describe Wisconsin’s 27-10 loss to Maryland in the Big Ten Conference opener Saturday, Sept. 20, at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Terrapins took advantage of a first half interception and two special teams mistakes to race out to a 20-0 lead at halftime. Wisconsin showed signs of life in the third quarter, but not nearly enough to avoid the first loss to Maryland in program history.
The victory improved the Terrapins' record to 4-0. Wisconsin dropped to 2-2.
The Badgers will have next weekend off. They return to action Oct. 4 at Michigan.
The team’s players and coaches will have a lot to mull over between now and then.
UW ran for 61 yards in 42 carries, an average of 1.5 yards per carry. The offensive line allowed six sacks. The Badgers netted 296 yards, 90 in the fourth quarter, one week after gaining a season-low 209 at Alabama.
Wisconsin’s Danny O’Neil completed 14 of 22 passes for 120 yards. He came on in relief of Billy Edwards, who started for the first time since the season opener but couldn’t finish the second possession. The Badgers were also without center Jake Renfro, who missed the entire game.
Here are four takeaways from the loss.
Danny O’Neil’s developing disturbing trend of interceptions
The Badgers endured another poor start and a big reason for it was another interception by O’Neil. He was picked off by safety Jalen Huskey on a third-and-16 play from the Badgers’ 25 on their second possession. Huskey returned the pick 21 yards to set up Maryland’s first touchdown.
Terrapins tackle Cam Rice was credited with a hurry on the interception, but the pass essentially was thrown up for grabs. The ball hung in the air so long that Huskey didn’t need good coverage to make a play on the ball.
The interception was O’Neil’s fifth of the season. It could be argued that at least three of those turnovers were the result of bad decisions. And like his pick in the first quarter at Alabama last week, the turnover shifted early momentum Maryland’s way.
With Saturday’s performance, O’Neil has five touchdowns and five interceptions for the season.
Special teams were double trouble for Badgers
How bad was it for Wisconsin in the first half? Well, the Badgers had a field goal and punt blocked in the first quarter.
Give Maryland freshman outside linebacker Zahir Mathis credit for timing his jump perfectly to block Nathanial Vakos’ 38-yard attempt in the first quarter.
However, the punt unit whiffed when it came to getting a block on Messiah Delhomme late in the first quarter. His blocked punt set up the Terrapins with a first down at the UW 28. That play led to 9-yard touchdown pass from Malik Washington to Shaleak Knotts that, after the extra point, gave Maryland a 14-0 lead.
The run game continues to falter
If there was a play that symbolized the Badgers struggle to run the ball it came late in the first half on third and 1 from the Maryland 35.
Get a first down and maybe Wisconsin, down 17-0 at the time, could have put some points on the board before halftime.
Instead, defensive tackle Cam Rice blew up the right side of the UW line and dropped Darrion Dupree for a 2-yard loss. The next play O’Neil was held to 2 yards on fourth and 3.
The turnovers on downs gave Maryland the ball at its 35 with 25 seconds left. That sequence led to a 26-yard Maryland field goal on the final play of the half to push the Terrapins’ lead to 20-0.
UW finished the half with 34 yards in 23 carries, a 1.5-yard average. The team finished the day with 61 yards and a 1.5-yard average.
Though not nearly enough, Wisconsin's defense shows life in second half
Luke Fickell exposes the values of complimentary football, but there was only so much the UW defense could do in its attempt to bail out the team from mistakes by the offense and special teams.
Maryland needed to go only 4 yards for its first touchdown and 28 yards for its second. Its field goal drives were 39 and 57 yards.
The only scoring drive the Terrapins really had to work for in the first half was their last one and that was the one time the defense failed to get the job done.
A 48-yard strike from Washington to Octavian Smith Jr set up Maryland for its final score of the half, which came on the final play of the half.
The Badgers defense opened the second half by holding Maryland to three-and-outs on its first three possessions but the UW offense could only get three points out of the stretch.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Maryland 27, Wisconsin 10: 4 takeaways from loss in Big Ten opener
